I Woke Up Dead at the Mall

Gr 9 Up—Sixteen-year-old New Yorker Sarah Evans is shocked when she wakes up dead. At the Mall of America. In Minnesota. Wearing the mango chiffon bridesmaid gown she had on when she died. Along with fellow teen murder victims Harry (cancer, although that isn't technically what killed him), Lacey (pushed off a roof), Alice (she doesn't want to talk about it), and the oh-so-dreamy Nick (gunshot to the chest), Sarah is supposed to use her time at the mall to prepare to move on. The only problem is that Sarah can't believe anyone would want to murder her when she spent her entire (short) life determined to be ordinary. Sarah also knows without a doubt that her father is in danger and she's the only one who can save him—even if interfering with the living is against the rules, according to her annoyingly chipper "death coach," Bertha. In this humorous and offbeat ghost story, Sarah uses her uncanny haunting abilities, along with some help from her new friends, to make sense of her afterlife and save the day. Sarah's snark-filled first-person narration meshes well with the madcap quality of this story. This novel sidesteps religion by presenting the Boy (aka "Boss of You") as the ultimate authority figure in the afterlife while also keeping things like angels separate from any faith-based interpretations. Unfortunately these seemingly arbitrary alternatives also provide little in the way of world-building for the fantasy elements. Pop culture references, including a years too late cameo by Oprah Winfrey, lend a dated and out-of-touch quality to this otherwise strong plot. One-note characters with vague motivations further diminish the overall impact of this novel.